Abstract
A recent paper suggested that if Galilean covariance was extended to signals and interactions, the resulting theory would contain such anomalies as would have impelled physicists towards special relativity even without empirical prompts. I analyze this claim. Some so-called anomalies turn out to be errors. Others have classical analogs, which suggests that classical physicists would not have viewed them as anomalous. Still others, finally, remain intact in special relativity, so that they serve as no impetus towards this theory. I conclude that Galilean covariance is insufficient to derive special relativity.
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Notes
There are other problems, however. In this model, the absorption of such force-particles, and hence the strength of the interaction, depends on surface area rather than mass. These two quantities are independent in classical mechanics and the model still conflicts with the theory it supposedly generalizes.
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Drory, A. Special Relativity Cannot Be Derived from Galilean Mechanics Alone. Found Phys 43, 665–684 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-013-9709-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10701-013-9709-5